The Kickstarter effect - Doublefines success bigger than just a game.
My only concern with this trend is what we'll see come out of it when these games get closer to releasee (or are released). Unlike a game funded entirely by the studio or publisher, where all consumers get is the choice to buy the final product or not, Kickstarter allows people to "invest" in the game early in its development. And, unfortunately, the gaming community has a bad habit of believing itself entitled - and if the notion that they have this investment in the game's development comes about, things could get out of hand quickly.
The ongoing fiasco regarding Mass Effect 3 shows that players do not have much concern for the wishes of the studio, they want what they want. With a boxed product bought at release, if unsatisfied with a game, they can usually return it, or trade it in, or sell it to someone else and move on. Maybe they'll complain on the internet. They are very much outside of the creative control of the game, and it's something they have to deal with. But Kickstarter allows people to believe they are buying into the development process, or the creative control. It's people that funded the game, a game that the people want.
One false step by the developer that the "investors" don't like, and two things can happen: either the developers take a step back because the players want them to, sacrificing their vision of the game, or they stand their ground and defend their creative goals, and suddenly the whole "connection with the community" brought about by the crowd-funding collapses around them. And while a lot of people will say the first option is a good thing, it really isn't. Every gamer, especially those "savvy" enough to help Kickstart a game, wants to believe they're an expert on games, but they aren't, and the developers are. And while there is value in a developer being responsive to community wishes, the community can't completely drive the development process without something being lost.
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